The GPIO (General-Purpose Input/Output) pins of the Raspberry Pi are versatile ports for handling both incoming and outgoing digital signals. When used as output ports, GPIO pins can control lights, actuators, motors, relays and many other things.
The McLaren Synth Kit --- https://github.com/mclarenlabs/McLarenSynthKit --- now includes an RTP-MIDI engine that you can include in your own projects. The engine is the same one that is in our well-known rtpmidi product! We're providing the library so that you can set up RTP-MIDI connections as you like.
Have you ever wanted to use MIDI commands to control electrical lights or appliances? This article will tell you how using a Raspberry Pi, the GPIO pins controlled by some open-source software from McLaren Labs on GitHub, and a nifty device called the IOT Relay. Using the Relay is an affordable and SAFE way to control 120 VAC sockets and it makes this project a breeze.
A service is a program that the operating system automatically starts when it boots. On the Raspberry Pi "buster" operating system, the daemon that starts and stops services is called "systemd." You can read about creating services here:
This month McLaren Labs releases rtpmidi version 0.5.0 for Ubuntu and Raspberry Pi. This release brings some great new features, and also provides a few performance and installation improvements.
The Yamaha MD-BT01 is a nifty little MIDI 5-pin DIN to Bluetooth adapter. It plugs into the MIDI In/Out ports of MIDI controllers to connect wirelessly to a computer with Bluetooth. A typical use for this adapter is to connect legacy MIDI keyboards to a computer without using a 5-pin MIDI to USB adapter on the computer. Since most computers have Bluetooth built in these days, this makes for a tidy work-area since it eliminates at least one of the cables in your MIDI studio.
The MD-BT01 has a very smart appearance - it consists of just two large plugs connected by a single wire. It runs off of the current already provided by the 5-pin MIDI signal. Just plug it in, and it advertises itself as a Bluetooth MIDI connection point. Since it uses the Bluetooth MIDI standard, it can connect to many different devices. We tested it with Raspberry Pi and it works fine with Raspbian Stretch. If you have followed the steps in our previous article (https://mclarenlabs.com/blog/2019/01/15/korg-microkey-air-37-bluetooth-midi-keyboard-with-raspberry-pi/) then your Pi is ready to go.
Do you want to have even more fun with your musical Raspberry Pi? Use an external Bluetooth MIDI keyboard with it! For this project, you need to download and compile a new version of the Bluetooth drivers for Linux. If you don't already have compilation tools installed, you'll need those too.
We will tell you how to compile and install the necessary Bluetooth driver, and then describe how to pair a Bluetooth MIDI Keyboard.
Sometimes you want a really "punchy" sound. To a musician, this means a sound with a rapid attack and a quick reaction from the keyboard. To a software developer, this means a sound with a very low attack rate and a very low latency through the synthesizer from the keyboard to the audio output. To make a punchy sound, we're going to use an external USB audio card, and also adjust the sound card settings.
We've been inspired to be creators ever since we got our first Raspberry Pi. It makes possible so much invention and experimentation for not a lot of money. One of the things we've wanted is an easy-to-use, dead simple tone generator for using the Raspberry Pi as a MIDI instrument.
Our just-released Organ synthesizer makes it easy for anyone to get started with using a Raspberry Pi as a musical instrument. Plug a MIDI keyboard into the USB port and play. Or grab a MIDI file and experiment with different sounds. It's fun, and it's easy. And best of all, it was designed specifically for the Raspberry Pi!
The RaspberryPi 3B is an amazingly powerful computer for the price. It provides quad-core computing power for just $35. This makes it more than capable for music experimentation and learning, and experimenting with Software Synthesizers is a fun way to learn about sound.
There are a lot of good touch-MIDI controllers available for the iPad. They're fun to use and can be customized. One such popular controller is MidiPads . In the past, an owner of a Raspberry Pi wouldn't be able to take advantage of this controller, since MidiPads speaks "Network MIDI" and the Raspberry Pi does not. (Or did not, at least until now).
USB MIDI controllers and keyboards have come way down in price the last few years. We really like the Akai MPK Mini mkII, and we've really enjoyed using the Numark Orbit because it has an accelerometer in it for sensing tilt and motion, and it is easy to send MIDI messages for changing its colors.